Translator: Kell

Editor: Weasalopes

Escape Preparations

Hikaru woke up early the next morning . He didn’t have enough sleep and the fatigue from walking all over the place yesterday hadn’t been alleviated .

「…I made the right choice in moving to a hotel . I can relax in my own room and my body feels a lot more comfortable on a bed . 」

He had never stayed in a hotel once when he was in j.a.pan, but he had some knowledge about it . When Hikaru first entered his room, his first thought was “I see . So it’s like this . ”

There weren’t, however, any modular bathrooms or television . The corridors didn’t have vending machines – card or not – and laundromats, either .

「Have a good day~!」the cat-eared receptionist said as she waved goodbye .

…Is she here 24/7? Hikaru thought, but it was really none of his concern so he simply strode out of the hotel .

He was about to head for breakfast when…

「……… . 」

「……… . 」

Not again .  The hotdog stand owner was staring at him once again .

「It’s 30 gilans . 」

「Your hotdog better be good this time . 」

It had red ketchup and mustard with no grains .  Here goes nothing… Hikaru took a bite .

His eyes grew wide .

「W-Well?! How’s the taste?!」

「…Bland」

「What?」

「Why’s the ketchup watery?! This is worse than just being a bit mild!」

The hotdog tasted extremely bland . While fully disappointed, he already bought it . After finis.h.i.+ng it, Hikaru left the hotdog stand . The owner had a sullen look on his face as his shoulders dropped despondently .

Hikaru made his way outside town, not the Adventurers Guild . He knew what he had to do .

First I need money .

It was always good to have money . He might need to spend some to save Lavia . His problem now was: it was the King that pinned the murder on her . While it was only her guess, Hikaru thought it held some weight . It was certainly plausible . After all, it was a Count that was killed . The murder of one of the top thirty influential people in the kingdom of Ponsonia . The culprit was found in just two to three days . Lavia couldn’t have confessed to it herself, so it must’ve been someone’s idea – someone from those thirty people .

It doesn’t really matter who we’re up against . I swear I’ll let her escape .

The truth is Hikaru had a chance to succeed . She will be transported the day after tomorrow . It would all come down to his preparations today and tomorrow . One of those is to make some money .

There you are .

The fastest way to make money was to hunt Red-horned Rabbits . Fifteen minutes after leaving town, he spotted one . One thrust from Hikaru’s Dagger of Strength took the creature’s life away . He felt a lot less guilt than yesterday .

I guess it’s all about getting used to it .

He stared at the blood-stained dagger, its blade covered in fat which he wiped off with a rag .

I’m sure killing humans is the same . You need to have a strong mind to control yourself .

Because of his blunder last night, he thought about killing the knights . It was pure luck that it all worked out fine in the end, but there was no guarantee that he’d be as lucky next time . In fact, he had to consider the possibility of ending up in a much tougher situation . After a lot of pondering, he made a few rules for himself .

1 . If he concluded that someone must be killed, then he would do it without hesitation .

2 . He should be fully prepared before Stealth infiltrations . There was no such thing as being too prepared .

3 . Perform simulations of plans . He would not use the words “play it by ear” .

This was where his Stealth Skill came in – perfect for gathering information without much risk . How could he not put it to good use?

It’s my best weapon, after all…

「Hmm?!」

By the time Hikaru killed his third Red-horned Rabbit for the day, he felt something .

「Wh-What’s going on?!」

His body was getting hotter . He trembled so much he wanted to just run .

「This is… the same sensation from when I killed the Count . 」

It settled down after about ten seconds . Hikaru opened his Soul Board .

【Soul Board】Hikaru

Age: 15 Count Rank: 5

1

「I knew it . My soul’s rank increased . 」

He didn’t know how many living things he had to kill before his rank increased . From what he’d gathered so far, novice adventurers in their teens had a rank below ten . Those in their twenties had ranks between ten and twenty and people in their thirties had at most twenty-five . So Unken’s 51 was quite high .  It most likely gets tougher to increase rank the higher you go, but I guess that makes sense .

「…So even killing Red-horned Rabbits increases one’s rank, huh? I wonder how much higher I can go in these two days…」

As part of his preparations, he had other things to in the next two days: Gather information about the adventurers part of the convoy and getting levels . A person got one point every time their rank went up . Depending on how they use it, even one point could hold much power .

「I’ve already made up my mind to put the first point on this . 」

Hikaru navigated through his Soul Board .

【Physical Strength】

【Strength】1

【Weapons Mastery】

「How’s this?」

Hikaru’s sack with two Red-horned Rabbits was too heavy for him . He already struggled to carry one that didn’t have its innards removed . But going to the guild and back every time he killed one would be a waste of time . Every second counted right now . If there was a shortcut to efficiency, it would be to increase his Strength .

「…Wait, what?」

The Red-horned Rabbit he killed just now was short and round, as big as two watermelons put together . Yet he managed to lift it with just one hand .

「It’s light… holy cow…」

One point gives this much difference, huh? He recalled Zernenko’s Soul Board which had 3 points in Strength . Jill mentioned he was quite strong . It made sense now .

「Unken had 9 points I think…」

What kind of a world is this?

「Uh, now’s not the time to think about that . Let’s head back . 」

It was already nearing noon . Carrying three Red-horned Rabbits, Hikaru headed back to town .

The gatekeeper stopped him to check his huge sack and was surprised . Shocked, even . When Hikaru told him someone taught him how to efficiently hunt rabbits, the gatekeeper was satisfied .

Hikaru remembered his idea of bringing a present to the guard who stood up for him . The guard was overjoyed when he gave him one of the Red-horned Rabbits . He said he’ll make stew out of it with his colleagues . Apparently the meat was quite delicious and could usually be eaten at big celebrations .

He had one less rabbit now, but he need only hunt more . After having lunch at a food cart, he carried the sack with the two Red-horned Rabbits to the guild .

「Hmm?」

His ears caught the voices of young people . He turned to look and saw a bunch of teenage adventurers gathered around . Two boys and three girls . They were having fun scanning the request board .

A party, huh? Definitely not for me .

It would be difficult to use Stealth if he were at a party . The other party members won’t be able to see him .

If I was reincarnated differently, would I have chosen a different Skill?

「What’s that?」

「Apparently a party of kids from the sticks . 」

「Oh, the sticks, you say? A senior’s gotta teach them stuff, then . 」

「There’s five people other than you who are thinking the same thing . Hehehe . 」

A few adventurers approached the kids’ party .

Looks like they’re up to something again . The adventurers in this place sure are horrible . Maybe that’s why Jill keeps turning them down over and over again .

With a sigh, Hikaru made his way to the counter – to where Gloria was . Jill was already off duty .

「h.e.l.lo . If it isn’t Hikaru-kun . 」

「Please call old man Unken for me . And you better pay attention to those kids . They might fall victim to the games of those seasoned adventurers . 」

「Thank you for the advice . Yes…」

Gloria shot a glance at them . The kids and older men were having a friendly conversation – on the surface, that is .

「I’ll keep an eye on them . So about Unken-san…」she said, turning her attention to the sack Hikaru was carrying .

「The old man personally a.s.sesses the value of Red-horned Rabbits, right?」he said casually .

There was a stir among the adventurers . Jill was right . It seemed Red-horned Rabbits were a lot rarer than Hikaru initially thought . He let out a small sigh .

I’m in a bit too much of a hurry . I shouldn’t let others hear about it . I’ll be more careful .

There were plenty of other ways to communicate, like writing . Nothing good would come out of being marked by the other adventurers .

「Okay . Please wait for a moment . 」

Her tone was as composed as ever, but he saw the light in her eyes .  This girl is the one I really have to be on guard around, Hikaru thought as he let out another sigh . Wanted: a land of repose .

When he met Unken again in the dissection area, the old man still had the crusty look on his face .

「I told you to come in the evening . 」

「You’re the one who wants to a.s.sess Red-horned Rabbits . Plus I thought they’re perfect for lessons . I can leave them to you and come back later if you want, though . 」

「Do you always have a comeback for everything? Anyway, it’s okay . Let’s do it now… Wait, did you bring two rabbits?」

Hikaru took out two rabbits and placed them on the work table . The National Hero was surprised .

「Come on… If they’re that rare, then make sure you disclose it properly . Like “rare species” or “SSR”…」

Hikaru couldn’t help but think pointless conflicts might occur simply because of adventurers not having common sense . What would’ve happened if he brought three rabbits? Leaving one with the guards was a wise decision .

「For the record, the horns are broken . 」

「Of course they are! I won’t know what to do if you keep bringing ones with their horns intact . Speaking of which, I got the value of the horn from yesterday . 」

「Oh . How much is it?」

「140,000 gilans . 」

「………」

「Well? Are you fl.u.s.tered?」

「I’m not fl.u.s.tered . 」

He was extremely fl.u.s.tered . There were more zeroes now . It was only natural he’d get fl.u.s.tered .

「Plus the price of the meat from yesterday for a total of 147,500 . 100,000 will be deposited to the guild and you’ll receive 47,500 cash . Does that sound good?」

「Wait a sec . What do you mean deposit? I can’t withdraw the money unless I come here?」

「What, you don’t even know that?」

Guild deposit was written on the guild card as additional information . Apparently money could be withdrawn from any branch .

So not only do these cards serve as ID, they can be used like ATM cards as well, huh? This is really just like something you’d see in science fiction .

「Oh, they told me it’ll fetch for a higher price at an auction . So what will you do?」

「You do auctions here?」

「In the royal capital . 」

「They put monster horns for sale, huh?」

「There are different categories, but artwork is the main one . Monster materials are sold through bidding . 」

「When’s the next auction?」

「Ten days from now, I think . 」

「I can’t wait that long . I’ll sell them now and I want full payment . I’ll deposit 100,000 with the guild, though . 」

「All right . 」

He’d be handed a bag packed with gold coins if he chose to take the 100,000 gilans as well . Hikaru didn’t want to carry all that weight around .

Now I won’t have to make more money . Thank you, Red-horned Rabbits .

Afterwards, Unken taught Hikaru how to dissect . The old man offered him a dissecting knife from the guild for 100 gilans so he took it .

「…That should do it . 」

「Thanks . This is really something that can’t be studied on your own . 」

Hikaru made his way to a well and washed his hands . There were tricks to dissecting that simply reading books wouldn’t be enough . Now he just had to practice several more times . Also the method Unken taught him only applied to rabbit-like monsters .

「When I think about how there are still other kinds of creatures – reptiles, birds… I feel like just leaving the dissection to others . 」

「Haha . You won’t be able to say that once you’re in a dungeon . You might have to eat monster meat . There might even be times when you just have to take home the necessary parts . 」

「Dungeon? There are dungeons here?」

「That is correct . There are only two in Ponsonia, though . 」

「Two?!」

「Wh-Why are you getting fired up all of a sudden?」

Of course he’d get fired up . Dungeon meant adventures . Adventures meant dungeons!

I’ll have to wait for a while before heading to one, though .

Lavia’s rescue comes first .  He wasn’t going to budge from what he’d decided .

「I have a question . Are there monsters around here that I can hunt?」

「Let’s see…」

Unken mentioned several monsters .

「Got it . Any monsters I should stay away from, then?」

This was the actual question he wanted to ask . Details about the easier monsters could be looked up in the reference room . But no information was given on the more dangerous monsters . This was done so the adventurers stayed away from them . Actually “no information” wasn’t quite right . To be exact, their names and distinctive features were written, but nothing else . No mention about where they could be found .

「…Why do you want to know?」

Unken’s eyes narrowed .  Must be his Instinct 4 working .

「So I stay away from them, of course . I’m thinking of making money around here for a while . I might have to go deep into the forest . It’s important to know how far I can go before it gets dangerous . 」

「I suppose you’re right . 」

The answer was enough to satisfy him . Hikaru had already predicted which questions Unken would find suspicious .

「There are three monsters you should be wary about . First is the Green Wolf . 」

「A receptionist already told me about that one . 」

「I see . How about Rogue Bees?」

「Never heard of it . 」

According to Unken, Rogue Bees were bees the size of a coin . Their wings had degraded so they move by jumping from tree to tree . They normally operate alone, but if they saw someone or something as an enemy, they immediately call for friends .

「Bees, huh…」

「You’re probably thinking they don’t sound bad, aren’t you?」

Not at the slightest . Rather he was thinking about how much trouble it would be to kill one so he could rank up .

「They’re quite swift and their movements are unlike any other monsters . It’s hard for the eyes to get used to it . 」

「Got it . What’s the last one?」

「Forest Barbarians . 」

Haven’t heard of the name before .

「They’re about three meters tall and either operate alone or with a partner . A couple, basically . They look terrifying so it’s unlikely that you get close to them unwittingly . 」

「What do they look like?」

「They have four arms and only one eye . Otherwise, their bodies are similar to humans, but they don’t wear anything and they have smooth skin . 」

「That’s terrifying, all right . 」

The perfect example of a legit monster . There was information about them in the reference room . Although they only mentioned things like “Green Giants” and “Forest Guards” .

「Where can they be found?」

「Just don’t go too deep into the forest; especially on the foot of mountains . The ecosystem in mountains change after all . There’s one place you should also be wary about: the lake on the east . Monsters breed in that area . 」

「I see . 」

「That’s about it… No, wait . There might be one more thing . 」

「Might?」

「Goblins have been spotted near town recently . They might have a settlement somewhere . Stay away if you see one . They say once you find one, you might as well have found three hundred . 」

So they reproduce faster than c.o.c.kroaches?

Hikaru thanked Unken and left the premises . After having lunch at a food stand, he went back to the hotel .

Money left: 48,710 gilans (+100,000 gilans)

Two more days before Lavia’s transported . The next morning, Hikaru started early . The hotdog vendor wasn’t around so he took breakfast at a different place . After that, he bought a packed lunch for two and left town .

First is the lake to the east .

It was the place where Unken said monsters breed . He was going there naturally . It would take three hours by foot so he took a ride on a fast horse on which two could ride . It was owned by a dandy-looking man . Blankets were spread on the seat, making it a comfortable ride .

A one-way trip took thirty minutes and cost 100 gilans . More expensive than he had expected . He wasn’t sure what time he’d be back so Hikaru didn’t ask the man to pick him up .

「Don’t go deep into the forest! If I come by in the afternoon, I’ll check to see if you’re around . But don’t expect too much! Again, don’t go too deep!」

Apparently several people came to the lake since there were good fis.h.i.+ng spots .  Like Unken said, there are probably monsters farther into the lake . Swarms of them .

「That’s just what I want . 」

Hikaru changed his cla.s.s to Stealth G.o.d: Darkness Wanderer and activated all his Stealth Skills .

「Let’s go get some levels . 」

Hikaru strolled towards the lake .

「My target is the Forest Guards . 」

He was naturally going for the big shots .